Steampunk: It’s a subgenre of science fiction, clogged with gleaming gears and pristine petticoats. It’s also an aesthetic, and one that seeks to glorify the heritage of the Victorian era and the Industrial Revolution, a time where grime, grease and grit existed beside formal manners and elaborate costumes.
Taking inspiration from the works of writers that include Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, adherents of steampunk seek to reimagine the fantastic possibilities of steam-powered machinery, a technology whose glamour was short-lived, eclipsed by the development of computers, nuclear power and the other less tangible innovations of the 20th century.
Here, students Tyler Sawyer and Adrienne Grishaw model steampunk-inspired fashions. In March, the pair were named king and queen of the Steampunk Gala, which was sponsored by the student club College of Charleston Anime Association.
